Jurassic 5

The fifty greatest rap groups of all time

There's something great about a hip-hop group. From the beginning, it was never intended to be a solo endeavor; rap began in cyphers at block parties, and the first established rappers were components of a collective centered around the more important DJ. Even now that the rapper is the star, it's n ... More >>

The fifty greatest rap groups of all time: 50-26

There's something great about a hip-hop group. From the beginning, it was never intended to be a solo endeavor; rap began in cyphers at block parties, and the first established rappers were components of a collective centered around the more important DJ. Even now that the rapper is the star, it's n ... More >>

Best of Coachella 2013: Weekend one

Karen O's Outfit Karen O's wardrobe on Friday night was bad ass. The Yeah Yeah Yeah's frontwoman appeared on the main stage in a technicolor cape draped over a suit that looked like it was made of mercury. The vibrant collage was topped with a headpiece that Liberace might have worn had he ever been ... More >>

Coachella 2013 YouTube schedule and lineup

If you're one of the fortunate ones who's going to Coachella this weekend, feel free to go ahead and skip to the end of this post, where you'll find the full lineup and schedule. If, however, you're a flat broke music lover who'll be attending Couchella, as some clever dude somewhere has coined it, ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: Oct. 26-28

Welcome to the weekend, amigos! Ah, yes, we finally made it. Is it just us, or has this seemed like the longest week ever? Ah, maybe it's just the weather. Whatever the case, it's in the rearview now, and it's time to blow off some steam. Drinks are on the horizon and there's a full slate of great m ... More >>

Five best concerts in Colorado this weekend

See also: - Brennen Bryarly goes Into the Night as option4 - Parting words: A Sauna Q&A before its farewell show - Sharon Van Etten Q&A: "I get nervous sometimes that my songs are too personal" - Q&A with Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance - Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights Welcome to the ... More >>

#WMS 2012 recap: Vinyl Rooftop

Every year, for the Westword Music Showcase, we enlist our army of Backbeat wordsmiths to host various stages, and in addition to their emcee obligations, we ask them to pull double duty (or triple-duty in some cases) and also write up the acts that appear on their individual stages.

SnowBall Music Festival 2012: Day 2 travelogue

SNOWBALL MUSIC FESTIVAL @ VAIL VALLEY | 3/3/12 (DAY 2) Having survived the frigid first night, the sunshine and above-freezing temps of the second day are a treat. Feeling a little wear and tear from the night before, I was hoping to make it back to the festival grounds in time to catch Sauna play ... More >>

LUCKYIAM on being a Living Legend and how he stays grounded and keeps things fresh

​LUCKYIAM (due this Friday, May 13 at City Hall) seems pretty carefree these days. The MC (otherwise known as PSC, Lucky or Lucky One) starts his days off running on the beach in Los Angeles, then works on some music and wind down in the evenings by hitting the gym. The colorful MC has been a ... More >>

Galactic gives props to the music, and musicians, of New Orleans

Public Enemy at The Ogden, 2/19/11

Photo: Eric Gruneisen​Public Enemy has, for upwards of 26 years, put out rousing music that incites the masses both in recording and live show. Last night at the Ogden Theatre though, the crew showed out as if they had something to prove. Don't call it a come back. They've been here for yea ... More >>

Lyrics Born: "I still don't feel like I've made my best album"

Cut Chemist at the Gothic, 12/10/10

Paul LukesCut Chemist on Friday night at the Gothic Theatre.​ CUT CHEMIST J Flash • Skwared 12.10.10 | Gothic Theatre DJ Skwared took the stage at 9 p.m. Surprisingly, the kid in the Tap-Out hat knew his hip-hop. He started his set with Newcleus' "Jam On It," went into Juan Atkins' "Clear" ... More >>

Cut Chemist on crate digging, Jurassic 5 and Boyd Rice

​Cut Chemist (real name Lucas MacFadden) has been constantly redefining the art of turntablim for the past seventeen years as a member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, in addition to being an innovative solo artist. Blending everything from funk and soul to hip-hop and bossa nova, Cut Chemist's sty ... More >>

Cut Chemist

This weekend's Dance Card: Warm, House for the Holidays, Sex Panther and Singularity

​ Warm is the new Thursday night house music weekly at Gallery 22 (formerly the Loft at 821 22nd Street). This week, special guest Kurt Yates joins Warm residents Joey M, Louis Marr and Brandon Bass on DJ duty. Yates was a former resident at Soma during the Boulder nightclub's heyday in the e ... More >>

DJ Shadow on the potential extinction of vinyl and his massive record collection

Dean Fernando​ Josh Davis, better known as DJ Shadow, is one of those artists that invents genres. Since the release of his 1996 critically-acclaimed debut, Endtroducing....., he has been regarded as one of the founding fathers of instrumental hip-hop. Endtroducing..... made the Guinness Book ... More >>

Mile High Music Festival: Ozomatli on activism and working under the Bush administration

​ This is distinctly American music. Working with a lineup that's fluctuated between six and ten and has included members of Jurassic 5, Ozomatli has for some fifteen years been blending Latin rhythms and hip-hop influences for a sound that's as big as it is varied and multicultural. The U.S. ... More >>

Billy Joel & Elton John, Bebel Gilberto, Imogen Heap shows announced

​Billy Joel and Elton John, both legendary pop singers and pianists, have been on their Face 2 Face tour since March will visit the Pepsi Center Sunday, November 22. After opening the show with a series of duets, each playing pianos and trading vocals, Joel and John will play sets with their own b ... More >>

Last Night: Rock the Bells at Red Rocks

Aaron Thackeray​Rock the Bells 2009 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Thursday, August 6, 2009 Better than: ringtone rap, anything associated with Auto-Tune or listening to the self-proclaimed newly anointed "King of Pop," Kanye West, talk about himself endlessly. Since 2003, Rock the Bells has been the pre ... More >>

The Pogues, Dinosaur Jr., Creed shows announced

Shane MacGowan and his new set of choppers. Last month, The Sun reported that Shane MacGowan got himself a new pair of dentures to stop his face from "falling apart" after 35 years on the thrash. Sure, the dude's been known as a drunkard of the highest order, he's missed a few planes to gigs over th ... More >>

Top Ten Dance Collections of 2008, Both Mixed and Unmixed

Over the next couple of weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Click here for previous year-in-review coverage from Backbeat and VVM. Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddlin ... More >>

This Just In 9/4-9/10

DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist

Thursday, February 7, Ogden Theatre, 303-830-8497.

Cut Chemist

Sunday, October 29, Fox Theatre, Boulder, 303-443-3399.

Five for Fighting

Just because Jurassic 5's latest disc is titled Feedback doesn't mean the crew's looking for any.

Cut Chemist

The Audience¹s Listening (Warner Bros.)

Critical Fatwa

will.i.am

Busdriver

Wednesday, February 22, Fox Theatre, Boulder, 303-443-3399.

Blowhards

Project Blowed celebrates ten years of hip-hop innovation and improvisation.

What Goes Up...

The Gravity Games have pull.

The Beatdown

Corruption's new CD displays metal moxie of the best kind.

Crown Jewel

Teva Mountain Games electrify Vail

Jurassic 5

Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, Fox Theatre, 303-443-3399

Best Place to See Emerging Hip-Hop Talent -- Boulder

Fox Theatre

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Backwash

A Boulder student cares more about the life of hip-hop than the deaths of Biggie and Tupac.

He's Got the Beat

Going back to his roots, Scratch gives lip service to the lost art of beatboxing.

Peoples Get Ready

As part of underground hip-hop's newest dream team, Dilated Peoples are at the top of their game.

Backwash

Clever as a Fox, Boulder’s best club turns ten.

Swan Song

By refusing to follow the flock, Ugly Duckling has emerged as a wholly individual hip-hop creature.

Into the Light

The Jurassic 5 make a heroic ascent from the hip-hop underground.

Best place to hear Public Enemy in a classical European setting

Gothic Theatre

Black Power

The Bay Area's Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel make hip-hop that's magically Blackalicious.

The Grandfathers of Punk

Denver's early punk rock pioneers are remembered

Judgment Day

Backbeat contributors offer up their favorite recordings of 1999.

Handsome Boy Modeling School/Quannum Projects

So...How's Your Girl?
(Tommy Boy)

Quannum Spectrum
(Quannum Projects)

And You Don't Stop

These student DJs are hip-hop professors.

The Old College Try

CU radio thrives on the AM band.

Backwash